The Challenge... Week One
So I am all set to start my challenge today. I went grocery shopping a few days ago to add to what I already had in my cupboard to finish my week of meal planning. It is challenging to set a budget for yourself, but can be necessary depending on your income.
I got so excited for this challenge and did some of my shopping prior to my menu planning, I wouldn't recommend doing it this way as it can make things more difficult with menu planning.. Luckily my cupboards were stocked to compensate for my enthusiasm.
A few things I did/can do to keep the cost of food down is:
- Not going to the grocery store hungry - believe it or not you tend to buy more when you're hungry.
- Always go to the store with a plan/list, this way you will not stray and spend extra and it will also limit those tempting treats such as chips.
- Price match - certain grocery stores match their competitors' advertised price. Go through the flyers when they come to your door and see who has the lowest price.
- Buy in bulk! Although this is good for some things, it can get expensive fast! I generally order my flours and nuts in bulk online as it saves me a lot of money.
On my shop I purchased the following:
2 Organic Bags of Carrots - 4.98
2 Organic Heads of Cauliflower - 7.60
8 Organic Avocados - 7.20
5 lb Organic Red Potatoes - 5.75
1 Organic Broccoli - 3.79
1 Organic Kale - 2.59
3 Organic Zucchini - 3.45
1 Organic Ginger - 1.25 2 Organic Garlic - 2.40 2 lbs beets - 4.50 12 eggs 3.16 (Paid 4.75 but ate 4 prior to my challenge - so have 8 for the week)
1 Container of Organic Spinach - 6.99 1 Bag of Onion - 1.50
Total of $55.16
I already had the following (Please note that these are estimated costs of what I paid):
Frozen Organic Raspberries - 10.99
Frozen Organic Blueberries - 8.99
Organic Chia Seeds (1 kg Bag, will carry me to the next week) - 9.00
Almond Milk - 2.99
Coconut Milk (2 Cans) - 7.00
Chicken (3 Breasts) - 12.00
Salmon - 15.00
Kim Chi - 10.00
Turkey Sausage 9.00
Tomato Sauce - 2.50
Acorn Squash - .99
Kelp - 6.99
Seeds - 3.50
Brown Rice - 2.00
Total of $100.95 - Over by $7.11 - So next weeks total will be $142.89 for the week.
This is my general plan for the week.
Saturday - Chia Seeds with Frozen Berries for Breakfast, Carrot Ginger Soup for Lunch and KimChi Cauliflower Fried Rice. (There will be some variations, as I will leave the KimChi out for my daughter)
Sunday - Acorn Squash Porridge with Coconut for Breakfast, Turkey Sausage Stir Fry with Onions and Spinach for lunch and Roasted Sweet Potato and Avocado for dinner.
Monday - Berry Smoothie for Breakfast, Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing and Seeds for Lunch, and Slow Cooker Chicken (Can use the broth to make the Chicken Soup) with Roasted Beets and Carrots for Dinner
Tuesday - Chia Seeds with Frozen Berries for Breakfast, Carrot Ginger Soup for lunch, and Kale Salad with Seeds for Dinner.
Wednesday - Berry Smoothie for Breakfast, Chicken Soup with Brown Rice for lunch and Salmon with Roasted Potatoes and Sauteed Broccoli for dinner.
Thursday - Sweet Potato Toast topped with avocado and egg for breakfast, Leftover Salmon, Potatoes and Broccoli from yesterday for lunch, and Zucchini Noodles with grated Carrots and Kelp Noodles topped with Olive Oil and spices for dinner.
Friday - Chia Seeds with Frozen Berries for breakfast, leftover Zucchini noodles for lunch, and Cauliflower Crust Pizza with tomato sauce, Zucchinis, onion, garlic and whatever other leftover vegetables you might have from the week for dinner.
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